FDA approves Merisant's new sweetener

(Crain's) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed off Wednesday on the safety of Merisant Co.'s all-natural zero-calorie sweetener sold under the name PureVia.

The Chicago-based maker of Equal is hoping the sweetener derived from stevia, a shrub native to South America, will revitalize sales and revolutionize the sweetener industry.

Merisant is competing with commodities giant Cargill Inc., which has introduced a similar stevia sweetener called Truvia. Cargill received the same letter of approval from the FDA as Merisant for its stevia sweetener.

Merisant received a letter from the FDA on Wednesday saying the federal agency didn't have questions about or objections to the company's assertion that the sweetener is safe for consumption.

"This is a huge day for us, and we have the champagne out," Merisant CEO Paul Block says. "This is an enormous innovation for us and a quantum leap for the industry. This is a big part of our future."

The approval will give grocers such as Wal-Mart the confidence to carry the product and will reassure customers about the new product's safety, Mr. Block says.

Merisant began shipping PureVia to grocery stores last month, and Mr. Block says it wants to get it on the shelves of about half of all major grocery stores in the U.S. by New Year's and nationwide by the end of March. The sweetener, designed to taste like sugar, can be used for coffee, tea, fruit and cereal. It has a suggested retail price of $3.99 for 40 sticks and $6.99 for 80 sticks.

The safety of the product has been called into question by consumer groups such as the Washington D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest. The group urged the FDA this year to require more testing for stevia.

Studies have raised concerns that it could harm the human reproductive system. European Union authorities barred it on similar grounds, but countries such as Japan and Brazil allow stevia in food and beverages. Merisant and Cargill asked the FDA in May to approve their individual stevia ingredients as "generally recognized as safe" for use.

Merisant has partnered with Pepsi Co. on PureVia. With the letter from the FDA, the beverage company will use the sweetener in Sobe Lifewater and Trop 50, Tropicana's new light orange juice product.

Cargill partnered with Coca-Cola Co., which is introducing versions of Sprite with the sweetener this month and new flavors of the Odwalla juice drink.